Daytona gives 1st OK to development proposal near News-Journal

Published: Wednesday, May 15, 2013 at 9:33 p.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, May 15, 2013 at 11:08 p.m.

DAYTONA BEACH — New commercial development could soon be coming to a busy stretch of Nova Road.

If all goes as planned, the east side of Nova Road just south of Sixth Street could become home to an office building, a restaurant, a pharmacy or some other type of business.

The idea to develop the vacant wooded property on the city's north end took another step forward Wednesday night when city commissioners unanimously approved the platting of some of the property, a legal subdividing of land necessary for the project to move forward.

"We're taking the land along Nova Road and making it into marketable parcels," said Jerry Finley, a Port Orange-based civil engineer who's working with the landowner.

The property is part of more than 25 acres owned by The Daytona Beach News-Journal's parent company, Halifax Media, and its investors. Most of the land on the southeast corner of Nova Road and Sixth Street is covered by the newspaper's plant, but a strip fronting Nova Road is undeveloped.

The proposal is to use about 5.5 acres of that property for four lots that could be sold or leased for new businesses, Finley said. One lot would be 1.9 acres, the second 1.8 acres, a third 1.3 acres and the fourth would be sixth-tenths of an acre, he said.

Because the land in the southwest corner of the parcel is within the boundaries of Holly Hill, that city has also been involved with adjustments to zoning and future land use plans. Holly Hill elected officials are slated to vote on a platting proposal at their May 28 meeting.

The current proposal would put two of the new buildings on Holly Hill's portion of the land fronting Nova Road and two just north in Daytona city limits. Parking for all four buildings would be in Daytona Beach.

"This is a fairly complicated project due to some being in Holly Hill and some being in our city, and originally the Holly Hill comprehensive plan would not allow what is wanted," said Daytona Beach City Planner Rich Walton.

If all goes as hoped, construction of water and sewer infrastructure could begin later this year, Finley said. But building construction probably wouldn't happen until at least 2014, he said.

The Halifax Media plan also includes adding a new entranceway to the property off Nova Road about 300 feet south of Sixth Street. The News-Journal complex currently only has entrances off Sixth Street.

Although a large retention pond owned by the state Department of Transportation is already near the proposed development, an additional retention pond would have to be built, Finley said. A 50-foot buffer of woods would remain north of the existing retention pond, according to city records.

For now, DOT permits need to be secured and a construction company still needs to be hired for the water and sewer drainage work, Finley said.

<p>DAYTONA BEACH &mdash; New commercial development could soon be coming to a busy stretch of Nova Road. </p><p>If all goes as planned, the east side of Nova Road just south of Sixth Street could become home to an office building, a restaurant, a pharmacy or some other type of business. </p><p>The idea to develop the vacant wooded property on the city's north end took another step forward Wednesday night when city commissioners unanimously approved the platting of some of the property, a legal subdividing of land necessary for the project to move forward. </p><p>"We're taking the land along Nova Road and making it into marketable parcels," said Jerry Finley, a Port Orange-based civil engineer who's working with the landowner. </p><p>The property is part of more than 25 acres owned by The Daytona Beach News-Journal's parent company, Halifax Media, and its investors. Most of the land on the southeast corner of Nova Road and Sixth Street is covered by the newspaper's plant, but a strip fronting Nova Road is undeveloped. </p><p>The proposal is to use about 5.5 acres of that property for four lots that could be sold or leased for new businesses, Finley said. One lot would be 1.9 acres, the second 1.8 acres, a third 1.3 acres and the fourth would be sixth-tenths of an acre, he said. </p><p>Because the land in the southwest corner of the parcel is within the boundaries of Holly Hill, that city has also been involved with adjustments to zoning and future land use plans. Holly Hill elected officials are slated to vote on a platting proposal at their May 28 meeting. </p><p>The current proposal would put two of the new buildings on Holly Hill's portion of the land fronting Nova Road and two just north in Daytona city limits. Parking for all four buildings would be in Daytona Beach. </p><p>"This is a fairly complicated project due to some being in Holly Hill and some being in our city, and originally the Holly Hill comprehensive plan would not allow what is wanted," said Daytona Beach City Planner Rich Walton. </p><p>If all goes as hoped, construction of water and sewer infrastructure could begin later this year, Finley said. But building construction probably wouldn't happen until at least 2014, he said. </p><p>The Halifax Media plan also includes adding a new entranceway to the property off Nova Road about 300 feet south of Sixth Street. The News-Journal complex currently only has entrances off Sixth Street. </p><p>Although a large retention pond owned by the state Department of Transportation is already near the proposed development, an additional retention pond would have to be built, Finley said. A 50-foot buffer of woods would remain north of the existing retention pond, according to city records. </p><p>For now, DOT permits need to be secured and a construction company still needs to be hired for the water and sewer drainage work, Finley said.</p>